


every time I don't (I almost do)

by fernitron007



Series: Springtime Quarantine Writing Prompts [10]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Gen, John is a wizard, POV John Watson, Ron post Department of Mysteries, Some people didn't die, a weird timeline, mention of car crash injuries, past John/Fabian, what is canon?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28269675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fernitron007/pseuds/fernitron007
Summary: Days 19 & 20: Traumatic + Fascinate.Someone sends John an owl at 5 in the morning. The contents of the letter throw him into a flurry of motion.I thought Ron's injuries from the Department of Mysteries kind of fit the prompt.
Series: Springtime Quarantine Writing Prompts [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907653
Kudos: 13





	every time I don't (I almost do)

**Author's Note:**

> It's been three months since I started this series but I'm going to try and finish it anyway. I'm the kind of person that has problems coming through with their projects so honestly just having got this far is a win. The title is from Taylor Swift's "I almost do". 
> 
> Also, I don't know anything about being a doctor, so I tried to put in as little as possible so as to not make any huge mistakes.

The tapping awoke him gradually. First it was something far off and easily ignored but it got louder and louder until John couldn't hear anything but the annoying tapping sound. He was about to yell at Sherlock for being noisy but as soon as he opened his eyes he realised it wasn't his roommate. No. The tapping was coming from his window.

He got out of bed and looked at the clock on his nightstand that marked 5 in the morning. Something had happened, he knew it. He opened the window and a tiny frazzled owl came into his bedroom, a bit of parchment haphazardly tied to it's leg. John tugged on it and opened it to find the words "Help" scrawled hurriedly, an address and "Fab" at the bottom.

John didn't think twice. He took his wand from the secret compartment in his nightstand, put on a pair of shoes, a jumper and placed a silencing charm on his room just in case Sherlock or Mrs Hudson were able to hear the loud crack that followed as he spun on the spot.

The address was a rundown building in the outskirts of London; John’s military training kicked in immediately. He hadn't thought about bringing his gun along, so he entered the building and poised his wand, ready to attack if necessary. He heard voices in one of the rooms so he set out to investigate, hoping Fabian wasn't in any trouble.

"John? Is that you?"

John hurried towards the voice, his uneasiness not quite fading. He found Fab in one of the rooms sat next to another redhead lying in a makeshift cot seemingly passed out.

"Fab! What happened? Is he okay?"

Fabian hugged him clumsily, his voice filled with worry.

"John! I'm so sorry to bother you! My nephew, he took Arthur's car, I don't know what he was thinking, and he crashed! I healed what I could but I've always been a bit rubbish at healing charms. I didn't want to take him to Mungos' because the car is illegal and I didn't want to jeopardize Arthur and I-"

"It's okay, Fab. I'll see what I can do." John kneeled down next to the cot and checked the boy's vitals. It wasn't good but it wasn't anything he couldn't fix.

"Tell me what happened, yeah?"

While Fab got into the tale, his voice calming down as he went on, John performed a quick scanning spell that revealed that the boy had broken two ribs and a broken wrist, among other minor injuries. He was able to heal the scratches on his face and hands, and cast a few spells that would help him numb the pain in the meantime. 

Fab ended his story and John finally stood up, his legs feeling somewhat numb. "He'll be okay but I need to get a few things from home to be able to cure him properly. He's fractured his ribs and even though I can fix them, he'll need a lot of rest. He'll be fine though, don't worry. I've put him under so he doesn't have to be awake for any of the process."

Fab hugged him once more and John hugged him back this time. "Thanks, John. You're a lifesaver."

John apparated to the alley near Baker Street and rushed into the flat, fetched his medical supplies and was off again before Sherlock could question him. He'd deal with that later. When he got back to the building, the boy -Ron, Fab had called him- had regained a little color and Fabian was looking much better.

The man stood to the side while John worked and within forty five minutes he had done everything he could. He sat down on one of the chairs Fabian had conjured, comfortable despite being pulled from thin air.

"I'll have to check up on him in a couple of days, but he'll be okay. I think I'll wake him up in a while to tell him what happened."

"You're the best, John. I owe you a lot."

They grinned at each other for a moment. John got that feeling again, of being comfortable, of being seen. It was nice and a bit scary too. He cleared his throat. 

"So, I didn't quite catch all the details earlier. What happened exactly? How did you find him?"

"He sent a Patronus my way because he knew his mother would ground him until the next century if she found out. She would be right to, but I'm the cool uncle and honestly I prefer to help him through this ridiculous shit instead of him going through it alone."

John smiled, never having had someone who looked out for him while he was growing up. "He's lucky to have you, Fab."

The man blushed, his complexion giving him away easily and making John remember all the other times he'd made him blush but he stopped that train of thought before it could get too far. He stood up abruptly and went back to examining his patient. 

"I think it's okay to wake him up now." 

Fab nodded so John waved his wand. 

"Enervate."

The boy slowly opened his eyes, his breathing quickening but nothing out of the ordinary. "Ronald? Do you understand me?" Ron nodded so John ignited the tip of his wand and moved it from one side to the other. "I'm John, your doctor. I need you to follow the light with your eyes, yes?" The boy obeyed immediately. "You were in a car crash so I have to check you don’t have a concussion. Do you feel nauseous? How many fingers am I holding up?”

"You didn't call my mother, did you?" were the first words the redhead managed to mutter, making Fabian laugh behind him.

"I knew you wouldn't want to so I called John, the next best thing."

The boy visibly relaxed and smiled at his doctor. "Other than feeling sore, I think I’m okay. You’re holding up three fingers, right?”

John nodded, pleased.

“Thanks for coming. It was my fault, Fab was just being a good uncle and covering for me."

John chuckled. "He told me. Okay, since you're feeling better, do you mind taking off your shirt so I can give you one last proper scan?"

Ron nodded vigorously and slowly took off his shirt, but as soon as he winced his uncle had stepped in to help him.

John didn't really expect anything but was surprised to see that Ron's arms and torso were covered in bruises and suction marks, his skin still purple in some places as if the bruises hadn't healed yet. He turned to ask Fab what the hell had happened but his friend had the same confused look as he did.

Ron took a moment to understand what they were gaping about but soon he caught a glimpse of his arm and he blushed, the color easily painting his pale skin red along with the purple of the bruises.

"Oh… er. It's a long story."

The men looked at each other, concerned.

"The marks look kinda cool though. And I love the different shades of purple," he said, looking at some of his worst bruises.

Despite being  _ worried,  _ John could understand what Ron was talking about. The suction marks drew patterns across his skin and the bouts of purple looked like they were blooming from his torso. It would’ve been beautiful had it not been on the boy’s body.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Fabian hadn't moved from his spot and couldn't take his eyes off of Ron. The boy winced at Fab's tone so John decided to intervene. 

"Fab, calm down. He's okay, thos injuries are old, he’s been treated. I'll run a few diagnostic spells to see if his bones settled properly and then I'll leave so you two can chat, yeah?"

Fabian nodded, his hands in fists as if trying very hard not to make a scene, and sat down again on one of the chairs. 

Ron's bones had healed fine, so he cast a few spells that would ease any residual pain at least for the time being, and told Ron how to take care of himself. The boy nodded distractedly, looking at his uncle guiltily every few seconds, so John took out a pad and pen and wrote down his indications just to be safe.

He gave Ron the scribbled piece of paper and told him to take care of himself. The boy nodded and whispered his thanks one last time. Before leaving he settled his hand on Fabian’s shoulder. “He’ll be okay. If you want to talk some other day, you know where to find me.” The man gave him a tight smile, which John took as a farewell. 

He exited the building and decided to apparate a little far off from the flat so he could walk around for a bit. He couldn’t stop thinking about Ron’s bruises though, about what might have caused them. He wouldn’t ask Fab unless the man told him on his own. It seemed like a private affair and he didn’t want to press.

When John finally got to 221B, Sherlock was sitting on the sofa with a cuppa and looking through the newspaper. No experiments, no yelling, nothing. 

“Er, hey Sherlock. Everything okay?”

The man looked at him from head to toe, a scrutiny that made John try very hard not to wince. “Yes. Everything is okay.”

Surprised at the lack of barreling deductions concerning his whereabouts, John exhaled slowly and smiled at his flatmate. It’s not like he thought he was actually fooling Sherlock in any way, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

“Great. So… plans for today?”


End file.
